1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to drumsticks and in particular to improved metal drumsticks which approximate the playing characteristics of wood drumsticks but which do impart minimal damage to drums and cymbals and which have a replaceable elastomeric wear sleeve and a tapered body with low vibration.
2. Prior Art
Most drumsticks are made of wood with a specific weight and a center of gravity located at about 45% to 50% from the handle end. The advantages of wood drumsticks are that they have the "wood feel" because of their light weight, flexural characteristics and specific center of gravity. The disadvantages of wood drumsticks are their lack of durability, the damage they impart to drums and cymbals and their inadequate strength.
Metal drumsticks on the other hand are stronger and can be manufactured with more uniformity from stick to stick, but are more prone to vibration and are generally heavier and have centers of gravity differently located than those of wood drumsticks. They also can cause undesireable vibrations and reverberations which are tiring to the drummer and tend to damage cymbals and drums because of their relatively hard surface as compared with wood. Numerous patents have attempted to alleviate the problems of non-wood drumsticks while maintaining their advantages.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,350 dated Mar. 27, 1973 to Courdes discloses a hollow cylindrical metal drumstick having a straight, cylindrical tip end portion of reduced diameter. A plastic coating or sleeve may be disposed on the larger diameter cylindrical portion of the drumstick but not on the reduced diameter portion since it is said that such a coating in this area would inhibit the desired degree of flexibility (Col. 3, lines 13-17).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,544 issued May 31, 1983 to Roland E. Heiskell discloses a drumstick made of rolled impregnating fabric with a center of gravity positioned at 43.75 to 46.875% of the drumstick length from the handle end.
U.S. Pat No. 3,958,485 issued May 25, 1976 to Thomas 0. Peters discloses a hollow drumstick with internal ribs for increasing stiffness and a vibration dampener to eliminate vibrations.
U.S. Pat No. 4,320,688 issued May 23, 1988 to David G. Donohoe discloses a synthetic drumstick made of fiber-impregnated plastic material for lighter weight with the center of gravity toward the striking area.
In the prior art there have been numerous attempts to make non-breakable drumsticks that are cheaper, more durable, more uniform, while minimizing vibrations and which do not damage drums or cymbals while retaining a "wooden feel", but in no case have all these objectives been fully accomplished.